What turns you on? Your partner? (Cute!) Ethical porn? The churros scene in Challengers? Nope? Okay, how about well-hung minotaurs, a kidnapper fairy, or a tribe of big, horned, blue-skinned aliens?
Well, if you’re more into monsters than Mike Faist RN, you’re not alone. And if you recognise any of these fantastical characters, you’re likely already a follower (or at least a curious onlooker) of SmutTok — AKA the ‘spicy’ romance novel section of BookTok, TikTok’s book-loving community. BookTok and its smutty sister—both of which appear to be dominated by women—have been growing fairly steadily since the pandemic (at the time of writing, the latter hashtag has almost a million posts), but in recent months, it seems even your most, shall we say, traditional friends are getting in on the action.
The aforementioned love interests are all from some of the most viral fantasy novels: the minotaurs are from C.M. Nascosta’s Morning Glory Milking Farm, in which protagonist Violet gets paid to wank off the mythical creatures in order to harvest their semen (hot); the fairy is from Sarah J Maas’ A Court of Thorns and Roses, an enemies-to-lovers-esque romance between a mortal huntress and her fairy enemy; and the aliens aren’t from Avatar, but rather Ruby Dixon’s Ice Planet Barbarians series, in which a group of human women are trapped on an ice planet, with only hunky blue aliens for company. Other popular SmutTok novels include Ali Hazelwood’s Bride, Katee Robert’s The Dragon’s Bride, and Opal Reyne’s Duskwalker Brides series.
A quick search of these titles on TikTok brings up reaction videos, self-aware memes, and reviews (not all of which are positive), alongside covers that largely depict stereotypically beautiful women embracing their monster lover—whether that’s a werewolf, a horned beast, or a muscular minotaur. SmutTok’s faves aren’t necessarily all quality reads, but on a certain, increasingly mainstream, corner of the internet, they’re the hottest erotic fiction around. A Court of Thorns and Roses is so popular, it’s even getting its own TV adaptation.
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So, what gives? Fantasy romance novels being well-liked isn’t an especially new phenomenon—hello, Twilight—but in the last few years, it seems the objects of our affections in these novels have gotten increasingly extreme. Vampires, mermaids, and elves that look like Orlando Bloom, once the hotties of the mythical world, aren’t doing it for readers anymore. Now it’s all about scales, claws, and extra-long tongues (and other appendages).
Ruby Dixon, author of the Ice Planet Barbarians series, believes that readers finding these monsters and fantasy creatures sexy is “a natural progression of the escapist fun that fantasy brings to the table”. She explains: “Reality can be dull. A lot of readers don’t want to read about someone going to their nine-to-five job in middle management. The monster being the book boyfriend is another level of that. We know what regular men and women are like. We want the escapism of something different; something a little bit dangerous. A monster hero isn’t going to spend all night on the computer on Fantasy Football or argue with you about the dishes. If the reader can buy that a street urchin can turn into the chosen one, then you can buy that this gruff minotaur just might end up being the best boyfriend to a heroine ever.”
Could it be, then, that heterosexual women—increasingly dissatisfied by their relationships with IRL human men—are finding romantic solace not only in immersive stories, but in erasing men even from their fantasies? (And maybe that includes men-adjacent creatures like vampires.) It’s not too far-fetched an idea, given that more and more women are swearing off dating—and sometimes even opting for celibacy—thanks to the pretty dire state of modern dating and apps, fuelled in no small part by the growing political chasm between young men (conservative) and women (progressive).
“Some of the appeal of this trope is the instant connection that is often part of the supernatural plotline,” says Jordan Kistler, a lecturer in English and Victorian literature at Glasgow’s University Strathclyde. “This means that all the pitfalls of modern dating (and particularly online dating) are swept away. There are complications in the relationship, but the heroine of this kind of book can feel certain of the love interest’s attraction/interest.”
And yet, the ‘beauty and the beast’ trope is a tale as old as time—and a fairly problematic one at that. Rather than helping us to find solace from reality, are these novels just enforcing patriarchal gender dynamics, only with a fantasy twist?
Kistler says these novels do frequently promote unhealthy behaviours in relationships, like Edward watching Bella sleep without her knowledge in Twilight. “Often the male love interest is unhealthily obsessed with the heroine,” Kistler explains. “There is a concern that reading enough of this material will normalise such behaviour for the reader, making it seem like stalking or obsessive control is merely a sign of how much the person loves them.”
"“We’re finally experiencing that fantasy milieu that men have always loved, [but now] women have the main storyline”
There’s a risk that these narratives could also normalise violence because, as Kistler puts it, “it is in the ‘nature’ of the monster to be violent”. She continues: “Even if the male monster never hurts the heroine, there is always the potential that he could. The constant threat of violence is something that would obviously be extremely unhealthy in a real relationship.”
The ‘beauty and the beast’ trope also tends to be heteronormative because it positions the man as big, strong, and scary, while the woman is weaker and needs protection. However, says Kistler, the trope usually “enforces traditional masculinity more than traditional femininity, as the reason why the heroine is special is often that she’s ‘not like other girls’”. She adds: “There are obvious problems with this trope, though, in the way in which it denigrates girls and women who do perform traditional femininity. But because romance is written predominantly by women and for women, the genre is interested in expanding what it means to be attractive beyond the conventional.”
For all the traditional trope’s potential faults, this could be the simple allure behind monster romance novels: the books are increasingly targeted towards women. Not just that, but being into them is significantly less stigmatised than it once was. “I grew up reading fantasy novels, but it never felt like they were books ‘for me’ in that I wanted the female characters to do more than just show up to motivate the male characters,” says Dixon. “There’s one fantasy series that I won’t name, but it was a group of characters and the women only basically showed up when there was a rape plotline and the men wanted to get revenge. Cue eye roll.”
This new era of monster romance, Dixon continues, feels like “we’re finally experiencing that fantasy milieu that men have always loved, and we’re finally allowing women to have the main storyline. And because we’re women and we’re drawn to emotional stories, of course there’s a heavy dose of romance”.
It’s not just romance, though, but sex—and lots of it. These desires are spilling out beyond our imaginations, too, with more and more people experimenting with fantasy sex toys — think: tentacle or dragon dildos. After noticing an uptick in searches for ‘dragon dildos’ following the release of House of the Dragon season two in June, last week Lovehoney decided to get in on the action, launching three new monster-inspired dildos (one that’s blue and green with tentacles, a pink unicorn horn, and a curved orange dildo with textured scales). They’re not the only brand offering these kinds of fantasy toys, though. Brands like Bondara, Dragon Dildo, and LGBTQ-friendly Cute Little Fuckers have long made—and sold—monster-inspired sex toys. (This also tracks with the rise of more generally non-realistic, sleeker sex toys, like those sold by TENGA, LELO, and We-Vibe.)
“Perhaps the popularity of shows [like Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon], which often feature dark and stormy love scenes in mythical castles, has awakened an inner desire in the public, one that we might not have even realised we had,” says Annabelle Knight, Lovehoney’s sex and relationships expert. “It’s less about the way the creature looks, and more about how it makes the FMC (female main character) feel, both emotionally and physically.”
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“It’s the ultimate ‘what if’ that could help you experience something that pushes the boundaries of pleasure and imagination,” Knight continues. “Fantasy explorations also offer a safe space to explore power dynamics. They give you the freedom to play with ideas set in a world of mythical creatures or otherworldly beings, and feel more detached from everyday norms.”
Katee Robert, author of The Dragon’s Bride, believes that a lot of readers of this kind of fantasy romance also see themselves in the monster. “[The monster] has long been a metaphor in fiction for the ‘other’, and so seeing those monstrous leads get their happily-ever-after is deeply satisfying for this disabled author,” she says, referring to herself. “With the pandemic and a lot of truly scary things going on in the last couple of years, it’s a relief to be able to pick up a book and jump into a world deeply different from the one we occupy in our day-to-day life.”
And if you can get off while doing that—whether with or without the addition of monster-themed accessories—then that’s just a bonus, I guess.
